LED technology lures foreign investment

At the recent Environment and Energy Technology (ENTECH) Hanoi 2013 Exhibition, China’s Hua Bo Industrial Company said it will build a US$5 million factory in Vietnam to produce LED lights. 

The company has applied for an investment certificate, which is expected to be granted in the next one or two months. It will start operation next September, with over 200 types of LED lights and devices used in the electronics industry. 

The Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) said Hua Bo is one of numerous LED projects to be implemented in Vietnam in the coming time. 

The adoption of LED technology in Vietnam and other countries proves that this technology will gradually replace traditional household lighting. 

At present, there are only a few foreign companies investing in manufacturing LEDs in Vietnam and most products are imported into Vietnam. 

One of these companies is Green Power Kim Dinh (Fawoo Kidi), a joint venture between Vietnam’s Kim Dinh company and Fawoo from the Republic of Korea. 

It has been successfully installing LED lighting systems at numerous large works such as Thuan Phuoc bridge in Danang city, Hoa Lac hi-tech park in Hanoi, and Hi-Tech Park in Ho Chi Minh City. 

Nguyen Thi Bac Kinh, an expert from VAST, said the performances of several world-class companies in LED technology such as Philips, LG, Osram and Nitria in Vietnam are very good. 

According to an Osram representative, the company’s revenue in Vietnam is US$7.5 million per year. It is now deploying a range of projects in many five-star hotels in Vietnam, including Sheraton, Sofitel Plaza, Metropole Plaza, Hilton and Movenpick in Hanoi, Sheraton, Kum Ho, Saigon Centre and Liberty Riverside in Ho Chi Minh City. 

Osram is only involved with high-class projects, since the price of LED lighting is still higher than normal products, he added. 

Kinh said the high price of LED lights is limiting their appearance in households and public works. 

To ensure the effectiveness and sustainable development of Vietnam’s high efficiency lighting market, Chairman of the VAST Science and Technology Council Phan Hong Khoi stressed the necessity of support for the domestic lighting industry, to approach and master the modern lighting technology, especially LED technology. 

Accordingly, the State should list lighting manufacturing using LED technology in the high technology field, upgrade the two quality check laboratories from national to international standards, and build a national quality standard for LED light sets. 

More importantly, there must be incentive and support policies for enterprises and research institutes to approach and develop high efficiency lighting technology in general and LED technology in particular, Kinh added.